Monthly Archives: December 2017

1. Speaking of goals for the New Year, maybe I should resolve to learn to skate like this:

2. I’ve seen a lot of places listing “powerful men acting badly [and being caught]” as part of why 2017 was so rough, but I consider those assholes finally seeing some consequences as one of the bright spots of the year. At the library I also got a collection of Peanuts cartoons from 1971-72 and, while I normally loathe Lucy tricking Charlie Brown with the football, this is fantastic (click twice for big):

3. There’s three days left in 2017. At the start of the year I wasn’t sure if we’d even make it this far without some sort of war, but here we are. We are also one quarter done with this trash fire of an administration. A lot of people have suffered under it and there’s so much to fight about, but hey! no nuclear bombs. I’m fine with setting a similarly low bar for 2018.

I could have done more to meet the theme of the year (although I have contacted my elected officials more than I ever have in my life), but boy howdy did I sew a lot. If retirement planning or setting up a freelance site were anything like thinking about or making clothes, I would always meet my goals.

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I had a hard time picking a favorite project to highlight with a photo–the Sgt Pepper Liberty shirt was a close second, as was the red ikat topper . But these ikat pants were the real breakthrough: I finally made some that fit and that opened up A Whole New World. I realized that I could make a lot more of my wardrobe. I realized I felt a lot better wearing things not made in a sweatshop. I bought a serger and went to town.

Clearly sewing is where my heart is. I don’t watch a lot of TV, I don’t have kids or a crazy gym routine, so I can put the time into it. In the past it’s been easy to feel silly talking about this hobby–even up in my intro to this post I make a joke about not doing the “important” things and sewing instead.

But one of my resolutions is to let myself take it more seriously. This week I got a book at the library on Bauhaus weaving and I was just gobsmacked that these textiles–these rugs and fabrics and “frivolous” things–had a whole art book about them. I don’t know why I’ve never allowed myself to call sewing “art” but it is. Or at least, it can be.

It’s that dead zone between Christmas and New Year’s at work, but the other writer is on vacation so I’m showing up in case of any emergencies. I’m trying to use the time to plan out 2018–what I want to sew, what I want to organize, what I really want to do this year and how to actually do it (versus just saying I want to do it).

In that last category, I’ve found two articles in the last week or so that really put it out there. I linked this one on the solstice but I keep coming back to the opening, so here it is:

Every time you say you want to do something but don’t, a little part of your trust in yourself dies. But nobody wants to feel untrustworthy.

That’s why there’s always an excuse.

The second article I’m reading doesn’t have quite so many “IT ME” moments but this related phrase stuck out:

The longer you pursue aims you aren’t 100% definite about, the less confidence you will have. Confidence and self-trust are the same thing. You can’t trust yourself if you have low standards for yourself. If you continue on paths you aren’t clear about, you demonstrate to yourself that you aren’t worth much, and that what you want isn’t something you should have.

(Apparently I send around enough inspiring “change your life links” this time of year that my buddy at work made a joke about “New Year Karen is back.” I guess the trick is to make that enthusiasm last past March.)

Here’s why it took me so long to finish my last shirt–I was sewing birthday and Christmas presents for Doc!

First up is the Traditional Birthday Flannel Shirt, number six in the series. This time I used a herringbone flannel from JoAnn which is surprisingly nice–it washes up without any wrinkles, is heavy and soft, and has tiny tweedy flecks of color. (Take my word for it. The light on all of these photos isn’t great.) I think he likes it!

Then for Christmas, I wanted to make him an auxiliary pullover to wear around the house. He has a Polarfleece one with a stand collar that keeps his neck warm, so I found the Finlayson Sweater pattern from Thread Theory. I sewed that up in a Telio sweatshirt fleece, which is super soft and, Doc reports, as warm as the Polarfleece.

I was very impressed with the drafting and detail on the Finlayson Sweater: there’s a contrast facing inside, instructions to stabilize the shoulder seams and finish the neck seam with twill tape, and that inset shawl collar was the easiest inset I’ve ever sewn. The instructions are written for a standard sewing machine, not a serger, so I had to modify in some places, but it is a great pattern. (I may look at their button up pattern for Doc’s 2018 shirts.)

I also decided to make him a pair of comfy pants to go with his pullover as his existing ones were thin and pretty short from the wash. I was considering any of the Simplicity pajama bottoms but saw some reviews on Instagram of the 5 Out Of 4 Patterns pajama pants. The reviews unanimously said the fit was very close to ready to wear and it was a free pattern, so I gave it a go in some Kaufman Mammoth flannel.

It’s a super simple pattern but the instructions are extremely detailed. It also includes standard measurements for waist elastic and drawstrings if you’re sewing a gift and can’t measure your recipient.

The waistband isn’t a separate piece, just folded over, so these are really fast to sew up–which is good, because I had a Cutting Incident with my first choice of flannel and had to order more the week before Christmas. Doc was between a medium and a large so I made a large, but they’re a touch roomy. (Good thing that Mammoth flannel will continue to shrink.)

I get so much enjoyment out of sewing for Doc: picking fabrics that will be soft for him, finding colors that will look good on him, thinking about his nice broad shoulders when I cut things out or put in a sleeve, etc. I think I may get more enjoyment out of it than him, but another reason it’s so satisfying to make things for him is that he will always wear it and tell everyone that I made it–so it’s a win-win.

It’s the winter solstice today, which means we’ve made it through the hard part. Sure, January may be long and full of toxic smog, but we’re going to have more light. I’ve been walking more (10,000 steps every day) and that’s really helped with the S.A.D. this year–but it’s still nice to know the darkest part is over.

According to the hippies, “A solstice is always a powerful time to release the past and to welcome and anchor in a new cycle complete with a new set of intentions, resolutions and goals.” I’ve been thinking about what I didn’t do in 2017, how I can actually get it done in 2018, and what new things I want to try.

I finally finished the plaid Madewell knock off I talked about last month. Why “finally”? I had a lot of issues with it so it felt like it dragged on and on (and this year of hyper-productive sewing has gotten me used to finishing projects in two weeks).

But first, here’s me being a Madewell model:

The shirt isn’t anything tricky–another Archer button up in some more Kaufman Mammoth Plaid. But I had an attack of sewing hubris and didn’t consult my trusty tutorial for sleeve plackets…which meant that I somehow sewed them so they open backwards. There’s no going back from that so I just forged on.

I also cut this bigger, as I wanted oversized and I think that Mammoth flannel continues to shrink throughout its life. My other plaid version was a 4 in the shoulders and sleeves, grading to a 6/8 at the hips/waist. This is a straight 8 through the shoulders and waist, grading to a 10. Next time, I will cut a 6 in the shoulders and sleeves, as it’s a little too oversized: I ended up having to take the cuffs off, remove length, and pleat out some extra fullness.

Minor issues aside, I really love the colors in this one–that rust and ochre and “phthalo blue” (Bob Ross colors) are all I want to wear lately. And I’m really proud of the plaid matching. Just don’t look too closely at the sleeve plackets.

Doc had a good birthday Saturday (IKEA wrapping paper FTW!) but then started to feel like he was coming down with something that evening. So Sunday he stayed on the couch, Toby stayed in his bed, and I puttered around reading old Martha Stewart magazines and planning 2018 projects.

I still think the nickname–and the entire Steinbeck quote–fit him nearly perfectly: His sympathy has no warp. He is gentle as hell. He loves finding out how things work and explaining them to you, too.

He’s a quiet man; I don’t think his teachers in school recognized what they had so he’s usually not the first to speak up. But when he does, it’s always insightful and with such a sly sense of humor. You have to be fast to keep up with his connections.

He loves truth. He is passionate about fairness. He will give you endless opportunities to do the right thing–and he’ll try to understand why you’re not doing it in the first place. His patience almost limitless, for nearly anything except deliberate cruelty. Even then I’ve never seen temper from him; just disappointment.

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In the long Ann Druyan interview I quoted from a couple months back, she talks about Carl Sagan’s power of persuasion, convincing a creationist he was wrong:

“It was only because Carl was so patient and so willing to hear the other person out. He did it with such kindness and then, very gently but without compromising, laid out all of the things that were wrong with what this guy thought was true.”

That is Doc. So it seems appropriate to end this with another Sagan-related quote: “In the vastness of space and the immensity of time, it is my joy to share a planet and an epoch”…with Doc.